Introduction

Brand new Windows Phones have been generally in short supply of late, so we bet that many of you folks are itching to know when they’re coming. Well, the wait is no more here in the US, as the Nokia Lumia 635, a slight variant of the Lumia 630 that features 4G LTE connectivity, is finally making its appearance stateside starting with T-Mobile and MetroPCS. It’s no powerhouse, that’s certainly for sure, but despite that, it’s aiming to win over people with its low price and new Windows Phone 8.1 experience.

The package contains:

microUSB cable

Wall charger

Start Guide

Design

The cheap plastic material softens its looks, but there are color options available for its rear casing for some personalization.

Being a variant of the Lumia 630, the design here with the Lumia 635 isn’t surprising at all, seeing that it’s identical to its sibling – down to its size, weight, choice of materials, construction, and design language. Even though we’re not fans of the cheapish feel of the matte finished plastic casing, it’s nice to know that it’s replaceable with any of the alternative assortment of colored casings offered by Nokia. For the price point and all, we can’t be too critical about the design, which is obviously subdued in tone in comparison to other things we’ve seen put out by the company.

All of the usual suspects are found around its trim, like its power button, volume control, microUSB port, and 3.5mm headset jack, but Windows Phone fans will instantly realize that it’s missing the signature Start button below its display. To be fair, none of the usual Windows keys are found here, as they’re now incorporated into the Windows Phone 8.1 interface.

In the back, the Nokia Lumia 635 packs along a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera sans flash. However, those looking to do any sort of Skype video calls should know that this one lacks a front-facing camera. Removing the plastic rear cover, we’re given access to its 1830 mAh battery, SIM slot, and microSD card slot.

Display

Details isn’t its strength, but the 4.5-inch display produces accurate looking colors, and proves to be visible while the sun’s out.

No changes here with the display, so it’s the same 4.5-inch 480 x 854 IPS-LCD display with Nokia’s ClearBlack anti-reflection filter from before. As we can clearly see with our own eyes, it’s hardly the sharpest thing with its pixel density count of 218 ppi – more so when there’s visible pixilation upon closer inspection. Despite that, we’ll give props to the display for topping out at 440 nits, making it visible outside while the sun is present. At the same time, its panel is able to produce colors that are punchy and relatively accurate. For what it’s worth, it gets the job done, but don’t expect your eyes to explode.

The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set (area) of colors that a display can reproduce, with the sRGB colorspace (the highlighted triangle) serving as reference. The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x: CIE31' and 'y: CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.

The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.

The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance (balance between red, green and blue) across different levels of grey (from dark to bright). The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones, the better.

Excellent review and video review. I'd like to pick up one for ATT to give to someone so that they can try Windows Phone. $99 (no contract) for the 635 is an amazing deal for LTE, Cortana, MixRadio, Here Drive+ and all of the Windows synchronization that comes with Windows Phone 8.1.

Mmm ya PhoneArena is strange with their reviews. I just went back to WP, Snagged an awesome deal! on the Samsung ATIV S Neo AT&T model running perfect on Cricket Wireless & it is a way better device then this. Yet you rated it only a 6.5! And stranger yet the ATIV S (esentially the same phone is rated and 8). I know its not all about specs. But the Ativ has an awesome clear hd screen, great camera etc. I also think that some of the reviews I have read on it were worse because they were testing the Sprint model. Which would attribute to the slowdowns in the reviews. This 635 ya has wp 8.1 with Cortana on it already. But what else about it merits a higher score over the Ativ S Neo.

New Nokia 730 & 830 are released in Vietnam an India is next. Both have qc qualcomm 400 1 gb ram and screen 4,7/4,5''. Nokia 830 has 18 mpix main camera (730 has 8 mpix) both with flash led. Price in Vietnam is 230 USD for 730 model... Just wait and you'll buy better. Almost forgotten - 730 is dual sim.

All content (phone reviews, news, specs, info), design and layouts are Copyright 2001-2015 phoneArena.com. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without written permission is prohibited! Privacy . Terms of use . Cookies . Team